Clicks, Hashtags, and Ballot Boxes: Social Media Mobilisation and Political Participation among Generation Z in Oyo Central Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigated how social media mobilisation affects political participation among
Generation Z in Oyo Central Senatorial District, Nigeria. The research was driven by the rising
popularity of online platforms among the youth in political activities, as well as the gap that
has existed between online political activities and offline participation. Following a qualitative
empirical methodology relying on a secondary data set, the paper relied on research articles,
election and policy publications, civil society publications, and reliable media publications.
The data were thematically analysed to examine how social media sites like Twitter (since
renamed X), Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok can be used to communicate politically, drive
agendas, and mobilise the youth. The results show that Generation Z in Oyo central has been
very active in digital politics and communicates using hashtags, online campaigns, and peerto-
peer exchange of information to increase political awareness and gather support on social
and governance matters of interest. Nonetheless, the research also demonstrates that the high
rates of online activity do not necessarily lead to offline political activity, such as voting, civic
volunteering, and long-term engagement in local political activities. The factors that define this
disconnection include misinformation, the presence of algorithm-driven echo-chambers, digital
inequality, distrust in politics, and the existence of symbolic participation commonly referred
to as slacktivism. The paper draws a conclusion that, despite the fact that social media has
widened the scope of youths engaging in political activities, the democratic value remains
limited unless conscious efforts are made to enable young people to tie digital mobilisation to
civic action on the ground. The study recommended that it should adopt hybrid mobilisation
approaches, which would involve combining online mobilisation with grassroots mobilisation,
among others.